I wanted to tell the tale of Midnight. When we first got Mid, she was from a friend who had a second cat. My friend was told one of the cats had to go, so she picked the one that seemed to hate them.
We quickly found that Midnight had some serious animal-style mental illnesses (I've seen it in at least two cats. Animals go crazy too.)
She was so afraid of us, we never saw her. She would hide in the furniture until we all went to bed, then do her business. Any time we moved to a new place, she would revert to her original self, and it got to the point that if she saw us packing, she'd disappear. (We once had to drag her out from inside the walls of the house.) I didn't really suspect abuse until one really obvious signal came up: We got a hamster.
The previous owners had a hamster too. Almost the same breed and colour as the one we had (theirs was long-haired.) She would look at the hamster, then practically beg us not to hurt her for it. I questioned my friend, and apparently any time she glanced at the hamster they smacked her. Between that, the declawing (which apparently cause severe psychological damage in cats, but especially her), and the other cat bullying her, we got a very fearful kitty that hated everything.
I'd like to introduce you to Midnight ten years later (now.)
(apologies for the crap photo quality. It was taken with my original camera, and is one of the few photos from it that I kept mostly due to having so few pictures of this kitty.)
She gradually got more friendly, and each change just seemed to make her happier. First, the rabbit taught her that little animals could stand up for themselves.
In that bunny's lifetime, I only got one photoshoot of the two together, and to be honest, it doesn't fairly explain their relationship. The rabbit treated Midnight like a submissive rabbit, asking Midnight to groom her, kicking Midnight out of her territory (by charging at her like an itty-bitty bull) and so on. But the rabbit really did seem to like Midnight, and Midnight reciprocated most of the time. (Other times, such as in the above photo, she's kinda 'please back off.')
And with having had two little animals, and us not going off on her for showing a casual interest in them, she calmed down around us significantly. Then, we inherited my grandfather's cat, which forced her to become a more social animal.
She got a bit attention-deprived, since my grandfather's cat got the prime territory of the house.
Finally, moving. I moved to my own place, where it's her and the rabbits.
Midnight is such a spoiled kitty now. To combat her food-related-anxiety, and to hopefully help her gain weight, I ripped open the bag, and she eats straight out of that. (She would otherwise ask me constantly for more food, always seeming afraid she was going to run out if she looked away.) I don't close the bathroom door (the only door in the house) so she can, and does, follow me everywhere.
And when I come home from a long day at work/school? She's sitting on the chair closest to the door. She won't stop meowing until I pet her. I usually get greeted in the morning by her tapping my nose with her paw (usually saying "Hey, I saw your eyes open, you're awake, now love me.) Now she's picked up two new habits when I go to the bathroom. She has to watch the toilet flush, which is apparently fascinating to her. She also stands on the back so she can rub my face with hers.
She also has a tendency to, and I will not worry about her general health until she stops this (even though she's 14) run around all the furniture, jump from one chair to the other, hop onto my bed, my tv, and onto my spare mattress up against the wall, and 'get it.' (She has no claws to get it, so I'm happy to watch her try.) Then she'll hop down so she can lie in front of the heater, because teh warmz.
Midnight has been the sweetest kitty in the world to me. It did take a while though, and she definitely had to be the only cat.
So, what's your pet redemption story? A pet that was sad, abused, or lonely that now is the happiest thing in the world? I'd love pictures. ^^
We quickly found that Midnight had some serious animal-style mental illnesses (I've seen it in at least two cats. Animals go crazy too.)
She was so afraid of us, we never saw her. She would hide in the furniture until we all went to bed, then do her business. Any time we moved to a new place, she would revert to her original self, and it got to the point that if she saw us packing, she'd disappear. (We once had to drag her out from inside the walls of the house.) I didn't really suspect abuse until one really obvious signal came up: We got a hamster.
The previous owners had a hamster too. Almost the same breed and colour as the one we had (theirs was long-haired.) She would look at the hamster, then practically beg us not to hurt her for it. I questioned my friend, and apparently any time she glanced at the hamster they smacked her. Between that, the declawing (which apparently cause severe psychological damage in cats, but especially her), and the other cat bullying her, we got a very fearful kitty that hated everything.
I'd like to introduce you to Midnight ten years later (now.)
(apologies for the crap photo quality. It was taken with my original camera, and is one of the few photos from it that I kept mostly due to having so few pictures of this kitty.)
She gradually got more friendly, and each change just seemed to make her happier. First, the rabbit taught her that little animals could stand up for themselves.
In that bunny's lifetime, I only got one photoshoot of the two together, and to be honest, it doesn't fairly explain their relationship. The rabbit treated Midnight like a submissive rabbit, asking Midnight to groom her, kicking Midnight out of her territory (by charging at her like an itty-bitty bull) and so on. But the rabbit really did seem to like Midnight, and Midnight reciprocated most of the time. (Other times, such as in the above photo, she's kinda 'please back off.')
And with having had two little animals, and us not going off on her for showing a casual interest in them, she calmed down around us significantly. Then, we inherited my grandfather's cat, which forced her to become a more social animal.
She got a bit attention-deprived, since my grandfather's cat got the prime territory of the house.
Finally, moving. I moved to my own place, where it's her and the rabbits.
Midnight is such a spoiled kitty now. To combat her food-related-anxiety, and to hopefully help her gain weight, I ripped open the bag, and she eats straight out of that. (She would otherwise ask me constantly for more food, always seeming afraid she was going to run out if she looked away.) I don't close the bathroom door (the only door in the house) so she can, and does, follow me everywhere.
And when I come home from a long day at work/school? She's sitting on the chair closest to the door. She won't stop meowing until I pet her. I usually get greeted in the morning by her tapping my nose with her paw (usually saying "Hey, I saw your eyes open, you're awake, now love me.) Now she's picked up two new habits when I go to the bathroom. She has to watch the toilet flush, which is apparently fascinating to her. She also stands on the back so she can rub my face with hers.
She also has a tendency to, and I will not worry about her general health until she stops this (even though she's 14) run around all the furniture, jump from one chair to the other, hop onto my bed, my tv, and onto my spare mattress up against the wall, and 'get it.' (She has no claws to get it, so I'm happy to watch her try.) Then she'll hop down so she can lie in front of the heater, because teh warmz.
Midnight has been the sweetest kitty in the world to me. It did take a while though, and she definitely had to be the only cat.
So, what's your pet redemption story? A pet that was sad, abused, or lonely that now is the happiest thing in the world? I'd love pictures. ^^
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